Barr defends Trump's actions because he was 'frustrated' by Mueller probe

Attorney General William Barr on Thursday painted a sympathetic picture of President Trump's actions and criticized the media for its coverage of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

Barr spoke about Mueller's probe into whether President Trump tried to obstruct justice, saying it's "important to bear in mind the context" of what Trump did because he faced an "unprecedented situation" and had to deal with "relentless speculation in the news media about the presidency's culpability" even though "there was, in fact, no collusion."

Mueller in his report acknowledges, according to Barr, that there is "substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by his sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency." This, Barr suggests, is "evidence of non-corrupt motive," which "weighs heavily against any allegation that the president had a corrupt intent to obstruct the investigation."

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The attorney general had previously told Congress that Mueller did not make a determination about whether Trump committed an obstruction of justice offense but that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein concluded there wasn't enough that he did, pointing to this evidence he says shows the president did not have a corrupt motive. Upon taking questions, Barr objected to the idea that he was being "generous" to the president with this description. Brendan Morrow